THE first woman to give birth at Bentley Hospital joined staff and volunteers to celebrate the health service’s 50th birthday last month.

Boukje Brink was the mother of the first baby born in Bentley Health Services (BHS) maternity unit in 1967, the year that the hospital was opened .

Deputy Premier and Minister for Health Roger Cook MLA, who attended the event on April 21, said there had been numerous refurbishments to the campus since it was opened along with the addition of a mental health service.

Mr Cook said in the past year BHS provided more than 65,600 outpatient service events, completed nearly 7400 elective surgery cases and welcomed 934 babies into this world.

“The numbers speak volumes in the achievements of the hospital,” he said.